Army-Chavez street brawl tumbles into the ballot box

Diana Walsh, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, October 31, 1995

1995-10-31 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Although hundreds of San Francisco streets have had their names changed over the last century, no change has drawn as much vitriol as the rechristening of Army Street as Cesar Chavez Street.

The anger is being channeled into a proposition on next Tuesday's ballot to return the Army Street name, a measure that has divided neighbors, sparked vandalism and led to a fistfight between leaders on either side of the issue.

The war over Proposition O is running second only to the mayor's race as the most politically charged of the November election.

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"I'm very saddened by the whole thing because it didn't have to be like this," said DiAnne Withelder, an Army Street resident for 10 years and leader in the Yes on O campaign. "Cesar Chavez was a wonderful man, and he deserves to be honored. We've given them all kinds of options . . . but they don't want to hear them."

The fight began in early 1994, when then-Supervisor Bill Maher proposed that bustling 24th Street, which runs through the Mission District and Noe Valley, be renamed after the founder of the United Farm Workers union. When store owners and residents quickly rebuffed the proposal, Maher looked around for an alternative and settled on Army Street.

Not only is the street is a major artery into the heavily Latino Mission District, but supporters thought the tribute would have the highest visibility imaginable because it is a major exit for two of The City's busiest freeways - meaning thousands of drivers would see Chavez's name on 24 freeway signs every day.

Many residents of the 3-mile street immediately launched a protest. But this time Chavez supporters were ready with their own campaign. The Board of Supervisors was inundated with letters and calls from both sides.

Most of the opposition to the name change came from residents in the hills, and some supervisors tried to broker a compromise. They proposed splitting the street in two, with the lengthy Mission District portion renamed after the late union organizer and a small section cutting through the hills of Noe Valley remaining Army Street.

But the board rejected that plan, with one supervisor denouncing it as "a kind of apartheid," and unanimously voted to rename the entire street.

Far from resolving the issue, the supervisors' vote heightened tensions.

Army Street residents who opposed the name change were infuriated, not only by the board's unanimous vote, but also by the supervisors' refusal to consider options such as naming a street in Golden Gate Park for Chavez or erecting a statue to honor him.

So they took the issue to the voters. The all-volunteer group had little difficulty collecting 18,000 signatures to qualify the measure to change their street name back to Army.

And, like so many other symbolic issues that have divided San Franciscans over the years, the Cesar Chavez / Army Street battle has highlighted The City's bipolar personality.

Leaders of the campaign to return the Army Street name steadfastly maintain they have nothing against Chavez the man. They say they would oppose naming the street anything but Army, a name chosen 145 years ago by Noe Valley ranchers when they were subdividing the land for development.

"It's not a racial division," said Withelder. "It's Army Street vs. non-Army Street. We said all along we don't want any change."

Supporters of the Cesar Chavez name say they understand the reluctance to change, but the street is an apt tribute to the late civil rights leader and an important symbol for young Latinos in The City. So important is this to the UFW that three of its organizers are working full time on the No on O effort. On weekends some 15 farmworkers from the Salinas area are brought in to leaflet at churches and neighborhood retail districts.

"He's an incredible hero in California, and at a time when the Latino community is going to get buffeted by Proposition 187, this is a time when we can tell (Latinos) "You have true heroes,' " said Supervisor Susan Leal, who led the board effort to change the Army Street name. "I think it's an issue that has been overblown by a few blocks of people. It's sad that it had to get to a ballot proposal."

But in the neighborhoods, the battle has taken on far nastier tones, with Chavez Street supporters saying many of the objections stem from racist attitudes. They say they have telephone messages filled with epithets and disfigured campaign literature to prove it.

But nothing riles the Army Street backers more, many of whom didn't buy grapes for years in support of the boycott Chavez launched in the 1970s, than charges of racial bigotry.

Proponents on both sides say that homes with signs have been splattered by eggs and that car tires have been slashed. The newly raised Cesar Chavez Street signs have been vandalized several times. Shouting matches have erupted outside churches on Sundays as parishioners confront leafleters.

"This man came up to me and said "How dare you be here,' then he and his wife started screaming "Army! Army! Army!" said Nicole Simon, a campaign organizer recalling an incident outside of St. Cecilia's Catholic church.

Harry Aleo, a co-chair of the San Franciscans to Save Army Street committee, said someone had put dog feces through the mail slot of his 24th Street office, the windows of which are covered in Yes on O propaganda.

Two of the major proponents on opposite sides of the campaign even got into a fistfight after one showed up at a planning meeting of the other and tried to take a sign as he left.

On the 4300 block of Cesar Chavez Street, 24 of 32 houses have placed large fluorescent and black Yes on O signs in their windows. One homeowner on the block who is against the measure refuses to put a No on O sign in his window.

"I don't want to earn the undying wrath of my neighbors," he said, requesting anonymity. "What if my house caught on fire? I would like one of them to call the fire department."

Tom Henning, a resident of the 3800 block, said he had little interest in the issue until he read some of the ballot arguments in favor of Army Street. He has since posted one of the few No on O signs. He even shines a light on the sign at night for maximum visibility.

"It's really to tell your neighbors this is where I stand; it's kind of a badge of identity because it's not like anybody in a car is going to see it," said Henning, who has lived on the street since January. "This is a major thoroughfare. I don't see why the property owners have more right to name it than the rest of the people in The City."

But an Army Street resident who lives several blocks to the north disagrees.

"Why did they pick Army Street? I don't understand," said Sameh Twal. "I have nothing against the guy. I like the name Cesar Chavez. I know he was the leader of the farm workers, but that's not the point. We'd just love to keep it Army Street." &lt;